andrewek

I'm the coach of the Omaha Slam team, and we've got 2 poets who will be 20 when NPS starts.

I know this is being taken into consideration with bout draws and all (thanks again to the organizers). So no worries there.

The question: will there be venues where my underage poets can watch either bouts or side events (such as the Encyclopedia Show, or the Nerd Slam)? Alternatively: will there be a means for them to circumvent the 21+ requirement I saw posted on a lot of the NPS facebook events without getting anyone in legal trouble? I'm happy to escort them, or even to hold their hands if need be. I'd just hate to take them all the way out to Boston without letting them see the best parts of NPS.

Thanks in advance. I haven't been to an NPS since Madison, and so am fuzzy on protocol.

t's pretty straight forward - there's gonna be stuff they can't do. late night stuff and bouts that are at bars are a no go. anything that says 21+ is just that; there's nothing you can sign, say or do legally to circumvent it. that's the downside, the upside is there's all kinds of stuff they can do. for newbies the day events and cyphers, not to mention all the new friends, is the best part of NPS. sure they'll miss some stuff, but there's so much that happens all at once it'll be easy for them to find something else to get into.

The question: will there be venues where my underage poets can watch either bouts or side events (such as the Encyclopedia Show, or the Nerd Slam)? Alternatively: will there be a means for them to circumvent the 21+ requirement I saw posted on a lot of the NPS facebook events without getting anyone in legal trouble? I'm happy to escort them, or even to hold their hands if need be. I'd just hate to take them all the way out to Boston without letting them see the best parts of NPS.

Andrew! Welcome back to NPS. Dahled is right that our website clearly marks all the bouts that are all ages, 18+, or 21+, and that there is no way to "circumvent" the 21+ requirement: this is set by our venues, not by NPS, and they do not want folks under 21 in the bars after 11:00. Boston is a college town, and the Cambridge police take underage drinking seriously, so our venues are just trying to protect themselves.

A lot of folks have asked me about what there is for the 18+ crowd to do after 11:00, though, so we are setting up a few "underground" events, as well as a guide for the website for the under-21 set. I'll notify everyone when the latter is posted, but you can also expect to receive both those guides at orientation.

t's pretty straight forward - there's gonna be stuff they can't do. late night stuff and bouts that are at bars are a no go. anything that says 21+ is just that; there's nothing you can sign, say or do legally to circumvent it. that's the downside, the upside is there's all kinds of stuff they can do. for newbies the day events and cyphers, not to mention all the new friends, is the best part of NPS. sure they'll miss some stuff, but there's so much that happens all at once it'll be easy for them to find something else to get into.

Dahled, I appreciate you being so blunt and so positive at the same time. Everything you just said is true. Simone has me working on the under-21 guide to NPS (which she mentioned in an earlier post) and I am also doing a guide to sober events and AA resources. Like you said, the idea is to give these groups a big pile of events they can do, rather than rub their noses in all the events they can't do.

That said, please everyone be respectful of the venue's age limitations. I was a Cantab doorman for 3+ years, and they will card and it's always an awkward conversation. The Cantab Lounge shares a parking lot with the Cambridge Police Department. Please don't get the place raided.

Also, bear in mind that Boston/Cambridge are among the best cities in the entire world for under-21 nightlife. This is a college town, and not everybody at BU/BC/Harvard/MIT/Tufts gets their kicks by sneaking into bars and frat parties. Harvard never really closes, so there are like a zillion brainy things you can do there for free or for $5. Two subway stops from the hotel and you've got Davis Square: a kick-ass quirky movie theater, the 2nd best barbecue in New England, bowling, a block party every Friday night, and a jazz club that's all-ages until 9PM. The Green Line will take you to the Red Sox game or the zoo, and the Blue line will take you to the aquarium or the frickin' beach. Revere Beach isn't Malibu, but it's a lot better than most of the public beaches in Omaha.